Eagle Women's Basketball Falls to UTSA

The Eastern Washington University women's basketball team (3-2) fell in its opening contest at the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic to the host UTSA Roadrunners (1-4), 77-67, on Friday evening (Nov. 24).

Two Eagles scored in double figures for Eastern: Joanna Chadd with 18 (she is now averaging a team-high 15 points per game) and Brittney Osbornwith 13 (currently second on the team with 10.2 points per game). Eastern's 34 rebounds were split among 10 different players. Phynique Allenand Ashley Knight garnered the most with five each.

The first half was close as neither team grabbed larger than six-point leads and the squads were tied on seven different occasions. UTSA went into the break holding a precarious three-point edge at 34-31. The second half, however, was when the Roadrunners took off, scoring 13 straight points to go up, 56-40, with 10:40 remaining. That would serve as UTSA's largest lead. The Eagles were unable to get their deficit to single digits, and the Roadrunners were able to hold on for their victory.

The meeting was the first between the schools.

The Eagles now take on No. 9 LSU at noon PT on Saturday (Nov. 25) to conclude its appearance at the tournament. The Lady Tigers, who have played in the last three Final Fours, are 6-1 after using a 28-0 run to open the second half to pull away from Tulsa in the first game of the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic, 61-37. The Eagles and LSU have never met previously.